You Capture / Outside

I blame Beth for our snow storm this week.

It came just in time for the You Capture assignment

It seemed like everytime I went outside (which was seldom)

I saw these poor babies trying to keep warm.
The blur in the background is the snow whipping around at 40 mph or so.

I felt so sorry for these guys.
If I could, I would have brought them inside to warm up.

I saw lots of snow drifts.

This poor baby could hardly stand up against the wind.

He sure wasn't thinking about using this birdbath.

The one picture that I missed was so cool. We were driving home from my mom's in the beginnings of the storm. All I was thinking about was getting home safely at the time. After we got home, I realized what I missed. In the open fields when the winds were blowing like crazy, there were snow funnels whipping around. My daughter called them "snownadoes".

They were really cool, but I missed them. That's what I get for being a big chicken.

If you go check at Beth's, maybe somebody there got them.

The Best Weekend That Just Keeps Getting Better!

Friday

We celebrated my Abby's graduation from Purdue.

My baby now has a degree in elementary education.

We had an all girl party at our favorite restaurant/bar.

We had so much fun!

Saturday

My 56th birthday

It was a great day. My family made it that way.

Sunday

My mom's 85th birthday party.

Look at this lovely lady.

Would you ever guess she was 85?

We all worked together to make her an awesome scrapbook of her whole family.

She loved it.

At one point, she loved it so much it made her cry.

But lucky for us, it also made her laugh.

Here she is with some of the great grandkids.

And here she is with my Jack. He is her only great grandson.

Monday

Abby got a job!

It's a medical leave, but it's a paying job and it's a start.

We are so proud of her and love her so much!!

Not a bad weekend at all!

The Season of Giving

I know that I have told you before about my buddy Bridger. He is the seven year old from North Dakota who wants to give clean water to underprivileged people. He is an amazing young man. He has given up his allowance and even his tooth fairy money to give to his charity. Bridger doesn't want Christmas presents. He wants people to give the money they would have spent on him for donations.

Bridger's mommy Melissa is my friend and I am so proud of her. She has done an amazingly awesome job of raising such a sweet and caring young man. Bridger has such a big heart. I don't know any other child who would give up their Christmas for people that they don't even know. It takes a very special child and I am proud to know this one.

During this season of love, could you find it in your heart to donate for my friend? No amount is too small. Here is the link..http://shrinkingjeans.net/2010/12/the-december-monthly-project-week-2-of-the-season-of-giving/ to a post his mom did that has a video of Bridger explaining his project. I promise he'll melt your heart. If you don't like to donate online, please email me and I'd be happy to email you Bridger's address.

Thank you so much if you are heading over to donate. You are going to make Bridger a very happy boy for Christmas.

CSN Store Review

Remember when I said I was going to have a review coming from CSN Stores? Well, today is the day. I looked and looked for days trying to decide what I wanted to review. There are just so many things to choose from. It took me a long time to decide. What I finally came up with was something that I really needed and with the holidays here, it was the perfect time to replace some of my old bakeware.


I have been eyeing the Rachael Ray bakeware and cookware for awhile now. I decided on the bakeware set above. What a great decision it turned out to be. I love them. Here is what I got and some of the features.


One 10" x 15" Cookie Sheet
One 9" x 13" Cake Pan
One 9" x 5" Loaf Pan
Two 9" Round Cake Pans Features:

Extra wide handles for a confident grasp
Comfortable silicone grips add a splash of color and a whole lot of fun
Long lasting nonstick aluminum, inside and out
Oven safe to 500° F

Everything cooks evenly and clean up is a breeze. I would highly recommend the Rachael Ray products. The next thing I want is that big oval pan that she uses all the time on her show.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Thanks to random.org, lucky number 13 is our winner. That makes Diana the winner of the Your Shape wii game. Email me your mailing info and I'll get it in the mail next week.

Your Shape Giveaway

I was bumming around ebay the other day. I found Your Shape with Jenny McCarthy for the wii at a great price. I got one for me and one to giveaway to one of you. I've been looking at this off and on for probably a year. Here are some of the things it says about the game on the website........

Personalized to You - Your unique plan is based on the results of your fitness test, combined with your personal fitness goals. This plan will mix the right level of intensity with exercises focused on achieving your goal.

You’ll Always Do the Exercises Correctly - The camera projects your image onto the TV screen so you can see yourself exercising next to Jenny.

Exercise Controller-Free - The camera sees you, so it works without requiring any additional hardware (such as Wiimotes, nunchucks, and balance boards), leaving your hands free to focus on the exercises.

Exercise That’s Fun and Motivational - not only is Jenny your in-game workout buddy, but you can choose from 6 background colors, 100 motivating animations, and more than 75 music tracks.

More Exercises Than Any Other Game - Your Shape includes close to 500 exercises – which means that your routine is always focused on meeting your goals.

So, what do you think? Sound like something you'd like to have for your very own?

Here's how you can get a chance to win it.

Mandatory entry--Tell me your fitness goal for the new year. Maybe you can give me some new ideas.

Extra entries

1. Follow my blog

2. Follow me on Twitter

You have until the evening of December 11th to enter. That's my birthday, so I hope it's lucky for you.

And For These I Am Truly Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for on a daily basis. I have a beautiful family that has already grown to 13. How did that happen? If you add in my mom and stepdad, sisters, brother and their families, we are a family of 33. All 33 of us are healthy and basicly happy. We have our little family squabbles, but we are happy for the most part. I have wonderful friends, both in real life and in the blogging community. I have a home to keep me safe and warm. I have a job I love. But there are three things that bring me nothing but joy and happiness and smiles and love day after day after day. I'm sure you know where I'm going with this.

Natalie and Lizzy and Jack

This was taken at the very start of the afternoon yesterday when Lizzy was still napping, but I love the twinkle in Natalie and Jack's eyes. It doesn't matter that they aren't looking at the camera. They are that cute!

Here's my Natalie. She is four years old now and a big preschooler. It is wonderful to have her come to preschool and call me Mrs. Collins and not expect me to treat her any differently than any of the other kids. She's the best! She tells me I'm the best all the time.
This is my Lizzy girl. She is two and let me tell you she is all two. She could be the poster child for two. She can be as sweet and loving as can be and then if you blink your eyes, she can be crying and mad and having a mini tantrum. But, God do I love her.

And this is my little man Jack. Can you even believe how big he has gotten? He is almost eight months old and making tracks by rolling to get to where he wants to be. He is so close to crawling. He gets up on all fours and rocks. He's trying so hard. He makes my days so happy.


I love these kids with all my heart. They are the lights of my life. I love my girls so much, but there is something about being a grandma that brings a whole new meaning to love. The feeling is indescribable, but it's wonderful.


Sorry this is a day late, but I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Please remember that my little friend Bridger is still working on his clean water project and you can help him. Just go here and donate. There is no donation that is too small.
Thanks so much for helping him achieve his wonderful Christmas wish.

Upcoming Review

CSN Stores have offered me a review of any product in their website for $50. or less. To say I am excited would be putting it mildly. Have you been to there site before? You really should check it oout. They have everything from exercise items to a briefcase to baby items and thousands of other things in between. They have over 200 stores to shop in.

CSN has become one of my favorite places to shop. They have everything. I have no idea what I'm going to pick to review, but I'm going to have fun deciding. Maybe something I can use for the holidays would be good. Check back to see what I decided on!

A New Inspiration

I've been waiting for tonight for several months now.

Tonight I was looking for inspiration.

And tonight, I found what I was looking for.

I went to the Healthy Woman Expo to see Ali Vincent.

She was the first female winner of the Biggest Loser.

She is amazing in more ways than I can even tell you.

She made me laugh.

She made me tear up.

She said that Jillian Michaels is a five foot nothing maniac.

She said that as much as we want people to like us and approve of us,

the only opinion that really matters is our own opinion of ourselves.

If we don't think we're worth it, why would anyone else think we were?

She said you can do anything for one minute and if you can do it for one minute, you can do it for two. If you can do it for two minutes, you can do it for four minutes and so on and so on.

You have to have a goal and you have to really want to achieve it.

I got meet her. She talked to me like we were old friends. She told me about working out at the local YMCA and invited me to join her for a spin class in the morning. She signed my book. It took me a few minutes before I realized what FFBL meant.

She even took a picture with me and my friend Mari.
I could go on for a really long time telling you about tonight. I won't put you through that.
What I'll tell you is that everything Ali said made perfect sense.
I found the inspiration that I was looking for. I know that nothing in weight loss and fitness is going to come easy. I know that it requires hard work and determination. I will probably have to recommit to it just about every day. But...I can do it if I really want to.
And guess what? I really want to!
Thank you Ali. You made a difference tonight in how I think and how I feel about this journey I'm on.

He'll Melt your Heart

This adorable little man's name is Bridger.

He has a dream for Christmas this year.

While most kids are asking for toys and video games and bikes,

Bridger isn't asking for any of those.

He has asked his mom to not buy him presents this year and instead help him try to raise $5000.00 to bring clean drinking water for children on every continent.

Bridger donates his allowance each week and any other money he earns.

He even gave his money from the tooth fairy.

I've already donated and I plan to donate again.

How many kids do you know with a heart this big?

In a world where children are too often overindulged and pampered,

it's a refreshing change to meet a boy like this.

If you can help Bridger achieve his goal, please click on his picture in the left sidebar.

That click will take you to his page to donate securely and help him reach his goal.

Thank you so much for helping this sweet boys Christmas wish come true.

Merry Christmas Bridger
Thank you for renewing my faith in the Christmas spirit!